DS's school sent a letter home recently asking what people thought of them providing a cold meal as a school dinner, as well as a hot. Seemed like a reasonable question, and lots of people said they were in favour of it.
It transpires that what we were being asked was whether we would be happy for the school to provide ALL lunches, and the cold option would replace a packed lunch from home. They want to do this because they say there are issues with the hygiene and content of the packed lunches they see children bringing in.
In order to sort out the confusion, they have sent home a voting form. If the majority vote for it, they will make it compulsory to have a hot or cold school dinner - at £10 and £7.50 per week respectively - and you will not be allowed to bring a packed lunch. It is a primary school, so children are there until 11 - meaning some parents who have 3 children at the school will be paying £90 per month.
One mum of 3 in particular went to the Deputy Head and was told if it got voted in her only option would be to come and take her children out at lunchtime, give them their lunch, and bring them back again.
I am unhappy about this for many reasons - the cost (I will have 2 children there soon) the lack of choice in actual food given, the fact that DS doesn't want it - he is a good eater and will try most things, but he like most people has preferences! and the fact that it is going to be made complusory - plus the tone of the letter itself, which basically implied parents were incapable of feeding their children (which some might be - but I don't think this is the way to deal with it!) But is it a reasonable thing for the school to suggest? And I know I am probably BU for getting annoyed when it hasn't happened - but the thought of the additional cost is stressing me out.
The schools argument also is that you would spend £7.50 on lunchbox items anyway which is difficult to argue, as by itself it doesn't seem like much necessarily - but it doesn't take into account the economy of scale, especially for more than 1 child, and the fact that others in the house benefit from the food I buy (eg we all eat the punnet of grapes)
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Another school thread - compulsory paid for school dinners
81 replies
PumpkinBones · 17/06/2011 16:58
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altinkum ·
17/06/2011 17:22
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altinkum ·
17/06/2011 17:31
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